Setpagina van: Mr Upgraderitus

One of the problems associated with hi-fi, a problem which affects many true audiophiles at one time or another, is audioholism. This debilitating condition can strike at any age, but seems to be particularly prevalent in middle-aged men with an excess of disposable income. If you`re worried that you may have become afflicted, here`s a series of questions to help you find out:

1) Are you currently in consultation with the local electricity board regarding the installation of that medium-sized sub-station your new system is going to need?

2) Do you have a small drawer full of those little plastic plugs that fit into TOSLink sockets to keep the dust out, and are they all individually bagged and labelled for future reference?

3) Is the only ironing you ever do of the user manuals (including guarantee cards) of your hi-fi components?

4) Do you keep your remotes taped up in their original plastic bags to stop the print wearing off when you use them, and use the remote all the time to avoid touching the pristine buttons and knobs on your gear’s fascia?

5) Have you installed a switch to allow you to turn off the motor in your fridge during listening sessions, to keep the mains clean?

6) Have you ever considered aligning your speaker cables along the nearest ley line to get the best possible sound staging from that Blue Nile album you only ever play after an equipment upgrade?

If you answered yes to more than two of the above, you may need to seek medical treatment. Help us to help others by sharing your experiences, and let us know how you care for your hi-fi. You may find solace in the words an old sage, "Remember, use the force you must, young Fi-walker, but tempted by the dark side be not".

De legendarische AJ3260...

Beste upgrade sinds jaren!

Muziek

Upgrading - when to stop

There`s a column in one of the American magazines that perpetuates a few myths: written by a woman, it`s all about her partner`s continuous tweaking of his systems, the upgrading, the sneaking in of new pieces of equipment. And that`s the common image of the hi-fi enthusiast - a mixture of fanaticism, ambition and guilt as he (it`s always a `he`) struggles to justify that latest silly-money purchase or at worst smuggle it past the little woman.

Hmm? It needn`t be like that. While we`d all like megamoney systems, drawing on electronics and speakers with five-figure price-tags, and while more than a few of us find ourselves irresistibly drawn to hi-fi shops `just to see what`s new`, the whole purpose of buying a system is to listen to music. Isn`t it?

Of course you can become an equipment collector, and hi-fi reviewers are probably worse than most - we don`t know of one who hasn`t a stash off ill-assorted components somewhere or other in the house - but to do that is kind of missing the whole point of buying hi-fi equipment.

Look, we`re not going to deny the status symbol thing, or the pride in ownership imbued by something really special, but when you buy something new your aim should be simple - to make he system play music better.

It`s all too easy to get sucked into constant `what ifs` and `perhaps I shoulds`, but buying a good system is a major investment, and the best thing you can do is buy right and then forget the hardware and concentrate on the music. If you`re constantly worrying whether a new cable or a new amplifier or that piece of black sponge you put under the CD player would make all the difference, you`re not actually enjoying the music: instead, you`re indulging in a sort of electronic masochism.

So what`s the answer? A large part of it is to buy right in the first place: when you`re auditioning a system or a component don`t think `Yes, that might sound OK if only I?`, but rather only buy something that blows your socks off with the improvement it makes to your music.

And once you have it, don`t listen to lots more alternatives: most of the time you`ll be hearing different, not necessarily better, and it`ll only confuse and dismay you. Live with what you`ve bought - it must have done something right in the shop, so enjoy it, and above all enjoy your music.

We`re often asked what is the best single upgrade anyone can make to their system, and the answer is invariably more music. Buy styles you`ve never listened to before, try composers that are unfamiliar, glue yourself to the radio whenever you can and make a note of titles and artists you like the sound of.

Music is relatively cheap - and especially so if you buy online - and the thrill of discovering something new via that system on which you spent all that money is hard to explain. But one thing`s for sure: it beats hearing a CD player maybe just a little bit better than your current one any day.

Upgrading

The Professor Branestawm image of the hi-fi enthusiast, locked up in some chilly, dusty garret surrounded by stacks of humming and glowing electronics, is a hard one to shake

Y`see, we`re known for our inability to buy a system, set it up and listen to music - we have to tweak this, adjust that and constantly buy new bits and bobs. In this, the world at large perceives us only slightly less bonkers than anglers or model railway fanatics. Upgraditis - it should be a designated medical condition. That way we could get days off work to go and get demonstrations of new kit, not to mention copies of What Hi-Fi? on the National Health.

As it is, all we can do is try to keep the condition under some control. Simply upgrading your hi-fi system because it`s time` is the first step on the path to hi-fi misery. Assuming you`ve built up a system that more or less satisfies your needs, presumably after extensive reading and auditioning, you don`t want to rush into a change on a whim.

Unless you`ve identified a deficiency in the set-up - too little bass, perhaps, or too much - don`t just change things for he sake of changing: change because you`re convinced it`ll bring about an improvement.

This is one of the really good reasons for building up a relationship with a local dealer - most are hi-fi enthusiasts as well as shopkeepers, and will be only too happy for you to wander in from time to time to hear the latest thing. They may organise musical evenings - if so, go along and listen - or won`t mind you taking a casual listen to a few things now and then, provided you don`t pop in for a coffee at peak trading times, such as Saturdays and evenings.

It`s only by listening to lots of equipment that you can make meaningful comparisons - that`s how we do it, after all - and it`s only with this experience that you`ll immediately spot something that`ll improve the sound of your system. But be aware that not all changes are for the better: different` isn`t always an improvement, although it can grab your attention in a very seductive fashion.

While we know from your letters that there are still readers out there who reckon six months is about long enough for the upgrading itches to start - lucky them if they can afford it! - we`d advise a more reasoned approach, which can be summed up in a ten-point plan:

* Get to know your system inside and out, learning how it performs with all your favourite music.
* Check you`ve done all you can to make the most of its performance.
* Ensure you`re using good quality interconnects and speaker cables.
* Clean interconnect and speaker connections and ensure all are tight.
* Tighten spikes on stands and floorstanding speakers, and check whether speaker drivers have worked loose.
* Investigate simple tweaks like repositioning speakers, putting paving slabs under stands, etc.
* Identify the problem you feel your system has, and listen to some alternative pieces of equipment.
* Set yourself an upgrade budget, and stick to it.
* Don`t be seduced by a different sound - make sure it`s actually better. Can you hear more? Is it easier to enjoy?
* Try to buy your upgrade from a dealer with an exchange plan, just in case you find you`ve made a dreadful mistake.

And above all, remember the whole point of the exercise is better sound and greater enjoyment, not more shiny bits of kit. Enjoy your upgrading, but don`t let it rule your life!